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10/22/13

BONNIE & CLYDE VS. DRACULA - REVIEW

Don't you just love living in a world where a film called Bonnie And Clyde Vs. Dracula exists?

I know I do!

Some crossovers are just uncalled for and some are so uncalled for that they become intriguing. The game then becomes to see how the film brings these two completely different worlds together, sit back and judge how clever it was at doing that. Whether the film itself is good or not, that's almost irrelevant. If you call your film something this absurd, you can't be too picky with it as that's missing the point entirely. Technically, no, Bonnie And Clyde Vs Dracula isn't that good. The acting can be wooden from the supporting cast and the budget is near non existent. That said, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have a ball with this one. I like films that know exactly what they are, what they need to be and do that without breaking your balls. Yes, Escape From Vampire Island, I'm talking about what you didn't do. As cheap as this movie may be, there's a genuine attempt to instil a certain style and a sense of humour into its wholly implausible plot which sees two separate parallel stories develop and finally come together at the end. On the one hand you've got Bonnie and Clyde doing what they do best and on the other you've got some mad scientist with a bag over his head keeping some quirky girl prisoner in her room while he tries to find a way to bring back Dracula to his full potential. The way both stories come together is far from convincing and it would have been nice to see them interact throughout the film in clever, inventive ways but as it stands, it's unashamedly silly enough to remain fun nonetheless. Seeing Bonnie and Clyde finally shoot down a room full of vampires with Tommy Guns, however brief the scene is and however far into the film it happens, is way more satisfying than it probably should be.

You do get the feeling that two completely different short film ideas have been crammed together into one movie. It's like when the filmmakers realised neither short would work on their own, they merged them at the last minute to create one single entity. A single entity that actually works surprisingly well. For one thing, the main actors are all around pretty good and do a really decent job. Tiffany Shepis and Trent Haaga make an enjoyable duo as Bonnie and Clyde, who are both appropriately charming and psychotic in equal amounts. Jennifer Friend, who plays Annabel (the mad doctor's assistant), adds a welcome burst of surreal goofiness and, although she looks like she belongs in a completely different movie, she brings some welcome energy and lols to the proceedings. There are some great ideas throughout like a long speech about goats and testicles, a disgusting "process" involving the sinister Dr Loveless, a vampire dinner led by Russell Friend's Dracula and the ultimate explosive merging of both plots. Everyone looks like they're in on the joke and are just out there to enjoy themselves and deliver something that looks ok for its low budget and is, at the very least, amusing and entertaining.

Which this movie is.

Bonnie & Clyde Vs. Dracula was never going to win any Oscars but it delivers on its wacky premise and that's really all you can ask for from an unlikely crossover like this one. It's a trashy ride but one with enough charm, gusto and fun moments to make it a ride worth sitting through.